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Recognition and Redistribution in Theories of Justice Beyond the State

Queen's University, Belfast

Caroline Walsh

University College Dublin, caroline.walsh{at}ucd.ie

We consider here how cultural and socioeconomic dimensions of justice beyond the state are related. First we examine cosmopolitan theories that have drawn on John Rawls's egalitarian liberal framework to argue that a just global order requires substantive, transnational redistribution of material resources. We then assess the view, ironically put forward by Rawls himself, that this perspective is ethnocentric and insufficiently tolerant of non-liberal cultures. We argue that Rawls is right to be concerned about the danger of ethnocentrism, but wrong to assume that this requires us to reject the case for substantive redistribution across state boundaries. A more compelling account of justice beyond the state will integrate effectively socioeconomic and cultural aspects of justice. We suggest that this approach is best grounded in a critical theory of recognition that responds to the damage caused to human relations by legacies of historical injustice.

Key Words: cosmopolitanism • ethnocentrism • global justice • historical injustice • Rawls • recognition • transnational redistribution

European Journal of Political Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1, 123-135 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1474885108096964


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